Extending Tax Cuts. The final version (conference report) of this tax-cut legislation (H.R. 1308) would benefit most Americans by extending the life of several middle-class tax breaks set to expire at the end of this year. It would extend provisions providing relief from the "marriage penalty" through 2008, extend the $1,000 per child income tax credit through 2009, and keep a greater number of taxpayers in the 10 percent income tax bracket through 2010. It would also revive some expired business tax incentives.

The Senate adopted the conference report on H.R. 1308 on September 23, 2004 by a vote of 92 to 3 (Roll Call 188). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the bill would extend the life of tax cuts, benefiting a large number of Americans.

Federal Funding of First Responders. During consideration of the Homeland Security appropriations bill (H.R. 4567), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) proposed an amendment to increase funding by $15.8 billion for police, fire fighters, and other local and state emergency personnel. It would also require the Secretary of the Treasury to "take such action as is necessary" to offset this additional expense by reducing tax savings under the 2001 tax law for individuals making $1 million or more.

A point of order was raised against Dodd's amendment based on Budget Act requirements, and that, in turn, led to a motion to waive the point of order. The Senate rejected the motion -- thereby killing the amendment -- on September 9, 2004 by a vote of 41 to 53 (Roll Call 170). We have assigned pluses to the nays because federal funding of local law enforcement will lead to more federal control, and the federal government should not be funding local law enforcement in the first place.

FDA Regulation of Tobacco. During consideration of a corporate tax bill (H.R. 4520), Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) offered an amendment to authorize the FDA to regulate tobacco for the first time and to couple this new regulation with a $12 billion, 10-year buyout to pay tobacco farmers for relinquishing government quotas governing how much tobacco they can grow. The FDA would be authorized to ban many ingredients in cigarettes, but Congress would retain veto power over any regulatory attempt to ban nicotine in cigarettes or to ban cigarettes completely.

The Senate adopted DeWine's amendment on July 15, 2004 by a vote of 78 to 15 (Roll Call 157). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the FDA should not be regulating tobacco like a pharmaceutical drug.

Budgeting for Overseas Military Operations. During consideration of the Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4613), Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) proposed a nonbinding amendment urging that the president include in his annual budget "any request for funds ... for an ongoing military operation overseas, including operations in Afghanistan and Iraq," and that such funding should be appropriated in regular accounts. In remarks on the Senate floor, Byrd expressed frustration that the administration has failed to estimate war costs and has made "stop-gap" and "emergency supplemental" spending requests that have caused mistakes in materiel requisitions -- the failure to request sufficient funds for body armor, for instance. Byrd described his amendment as "a simple, common-sense approach that promotes fiscal responsibility."

The Senate adopted Byrd's amendment on June 24, 2004 by a vote of 89 to 9 (Roll Call 147). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because his amendment would encourage fiscal responsibility.

Foreign Aid. During consideration of the Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4613), Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) proposed an amendment to add $118 million in emergency funding "to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Chad." The $118 million would be on top of $95 million already provided by the bill for that purpose.

The Senate agreed to a motion to table (kill) Biden's amendment on June 24, 2004 by a vote of 53 to 45 (Roll Call 148). We have assigned pluses to the yeas -- that is, those who voted to kill the amendment -- because foreign aid is unconstitutional.

The Senate rejected Levin's amendment on June 22, 2004 by a vote of 44 to 56 (Roll Call 133). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the U.S. needs a means of protecting the homeland against incoming ballistic missiles.

Missile Defense. During consideration of the Defense authorization bill (S. 2400), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) offered an amendment that would prohibit deployment of a ground-based system of missile interceptors until "the Secretary of Defense certifies ... that the capabilities of the system ... have been confirmed by operationally realistic testing of the system." The problem with Boxer's amendment is that the system cannot be operationally tested without initial deployment, scheduled for later in the year in Alaska. "If you prohibit this 'deployment,' you prohibit operationally realistic testing -- and prevent the very basis for the certification that the amendment requires," noted Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.).

The Senate rejected Boxer's amendment on June 17, 2004 by a vote of 42 to 57 (Roll Call 124). We have assigned pluses to the nays because national defense is a constitutional function of the federal government.

Tax Rate Increase. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) proposed a measure, in the form of an amendment to the Defense authorization bill (S. 2400), to increase the top income tax rate from 35 percent to 36 percent, starting in 2005 and lasting until 2010. The additional revenue would be earmarked for security and stabilization operations in Iraq.

The Senate rejected Biden's amendment on June 17, 2004 by a vote of 44 to 53 (Roll Call 130). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the amendment would increase taxes.

Nuclear Weapons Study. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) sponsored this amendment to prohibit the use of $36.6 million authorized by the Defense authorization bill (S. 2400) for two feasibility studies into options for modernizing our nuclear stockpile -- one pertaining to "bunker buster" weapons that would explode deep underground, and the other an Advanced Concepts Initiative including research into a "low yield" nuclear weapon. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), who opposed Kennedy's amendment, noted that our existing nuclear stockpile "was developed for a massive nuclear exchange with one nation. Today, these weapons are too powerful and may result in greater damage than necessary to neutralize a target."

The Senate rejected Kennedy's amendment on June 15, 2004 by a vote of 42 to 55 (Roll Call 113). We have assigned pluses to the nays because national defense is a constitutional function of the federal government.

Hate Crimes. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) proposed a measure, in the form of an amendment to the Defense authorization bill (S. 2400), to expand the definition of "hate crimes" to include assaults based on sexual orientation, gender, or disability. Current federal hate crimes law imposes stricter sentences when assaults are based on race, ethnicity, or religion.

The Senate adopted Smith's amendment on June 15, 2004 by a vote of 65 to 33 (Roll Call 114). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Smith's amendment would further federalize the criminal code, and because "hate crimes" measures are intended to punish not just criminal acts but the thoughts behind them.

IDEA Reauthorization. This bill (H.R. 1350) would reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It would provide for full federal funding by 2011 of 40 percent of the average per pupil costs for certain programs under IDEA by authorizing discretionary spending increases of $2.3 billion per year. For fiscal 2005, H.R. 1350 would authorize a total of $12.4 billion for IDEA grants.

The Senate passed H.R. 1350 on May 13, 2004 by a vote of 95 to 3 (Roll Call 94). We have assigned pluses to the nays because federal aid to education is unconstitutional.

Unemployment Insurance. This amendment by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to S. 1637 (Corporate Tax Overhaul) would authorize a six-month federal program to provide an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits for people who have exhausted their 26 weeks of state jobless benefits.

Senator Don Nickles (R-Okla.) raised a point of order against the Cantwell amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Senator Cantwell moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to the Cantwell amendment, but the Senate rejected her motion on May 11, 2004 by a vote of 59 to 40 (Roll Call 88), thereby effectively killing the Cantwell amendment.

We have assigned pluses to the nays because payment of unemployment benefits is an unconstitutional activity of the federal government. A three-fifths majority (60) of the total Senate is required to waive the Budget Act.

Child-care Funding. This amendment to H.R. 4 (Welfare Reauthorization) would increase "mandatory" child-care funding by $6 billion over the next five years (fiscal 2005 to 2009). The federal government currently provides $4.8 billion annually for child care through a combination of "mandatory" and "discretionary" programs.

The Senate adopted this amendment to H.R. 4 on March 30, 2004 by a vote of 78 to 20 (Roll Call 64). We have assigned pluses to the nays because child care funding is an unconstitutional activity of the federal government.

Fiscal 2005 Budget Resolution. This resolution (Senate Concurrent Resolution 95) would establish broad spending and revenue targets over the next five years. It calls for $851 billion in "discretionary" spending (including $30 billion for supplemental funding of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan) and another $1.5 trillion in "mandatory" spending for fiscal 2005. Based on these targets, the "mandatory" spending portion of the budget would increase by 5 percent over last year, and the total budget -- a whopping $2.4 trillion -- would increase by 3 percent.

The Senate adopted S. Con. Res. 95 on March 12, 2004 by a vote of 51 to 45 (Roll Call 58). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this budget perpetuates the fiscally irresponsible, largely unconstitutional federal spending with its attendant record-breaking deficits of recent years.

Assault Weapons Ban. This amendment to S. 1805 (Firearms Manufacturers Protection) would provide for a 10-year reauthorization of the so-called assault weapons ban. If Congress doesn't vote to reauthorize the ban, it will expire in September 2004.

The Senate adopted this amendment to S. 1805 on March 2, 2004 by a vote of 52 to 47 (Roll Call 24). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this so-called assault weapons ban is an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment.

Senate Republicans had introduced S. 1805 to help protect firearms manufacturers from industry-threatening lawsuits. However, they withdrew their support after gun control advocates won adoption of two "poison pill" amendments -- this amendment and a requirement for criminal background checks for all firearms purchases at gun shows (see S.Amdt. 2636 below) -- and S. 1805 was rejected.

Gun Show Checks. This amendment to S. 1805 (Firearms Manufacturers Protection) would require criminal background checks on all firearms purchases at gun shows where at least 75 guns are sold.

The Senate adopted this amendment to S. 1805 on March 2, 2004 by a vote of 53 to 46 (Roll Call 25). We have assigned pluses to the nays because these restrictions on firearm transactions at gun shows would be an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment. Subsequently, the Senate rejected S. 1805 by a vote of 8 to 90.

Surface Transportation. This bill (S. 1072) would authorize $318 billion in federal aid over six years (fiscal 2004-2009) for highways ($255 billion), mass transit ($56.5 billion), and highway safety programs ($6 billion). This bill also promises that states would receive at least a 95 percent return on their highway trust fund "contributions" by 2009.

The Bush administration had wanted to limit the spending in the bill to $256 billion, which, noted White House spokesman Scott McClellan, would still increase
spending by 21 percent. But the Senate added an additional $62 billion to the bill (24 percent more than the president had requested).

The Senate passed S. 1072 on February 12, 2004 by a vote of 76 to 21 (Roll Call 14). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this double-digit increase in spending on surface transportation is fiscally irresponsible, particularly during a time of record-breaking federal deficits.

Fiscal 2004 Omnibus Appropriations. Adoption of this conference report on H.R. 2673 (Fiscal 2004 Omnibus Appropriations) would provide a total of $820 billion in fiscal 2004, including $328.1 billion in "discretionary" spending, for a whole laundry list of federal departments and agencies. On January 22, Congressional Quarterly described this bill as "among the biggest appropriations packages ever written by Congress." Total fiscal year 2004 spending (both "mandatory" and "discretionary") in this bill includes $80.6 billion (up 8.0 percent) for the Agriculture Department, Food and Drug Administration, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and related agencies; $38.4 billion (up 1.3 percent) for the Commerce, Justice and State departments and judicial agencies; $545 million (up 7.1 percent) for the District of Columbia; $17.3 billion (down 27 percent) for foreign aid and export assistance; $471.8 billion (up 11.5 percent) for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Departments; $89.8 billion (up 3.7 percent) for the Transportation and Treasury Departments and related independent agencies; and $124.0 billion (up 4.4 percent) for the Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development Departments.

The Senate adopted the conference report on H.R. 2673 on January 22, 2004 by a vote of 65 to 28 (Roll Call 3). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill not only perpetuates huge amounts of unconstitutional federal spending, it also contains many spending increases for various federal agencies despite the fact that annual federal deficits have mushroomed to record levels.

Prescription Drug Benefit. The final version (conference report) of H.R. 1 would create a prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. Beginning in 2006, prescription coverage would be available to seniors through private insurers for a monthly premium estimated at $35. There would be a $250 annual deductible, then 75 percent of drug costs up to $2,250 would be reimbursed. Drug costs greater than $2,250 would not be covered until out-of-pocket expenses exceeded $3,600, after which 95 percent of drug costs would be reimbursed. Low-income recipients would receive more subsidies than other seniors by paying lower premiums, having smaller deductibles, and making lower co-payments for each prescription. The total cost of the new prescription drug benefit would be limited to the $400 billion that Congress had budgeted earlier this year for the first 10 years of this new entitlement program.

The Senate adopted the conference report on H.R. 1 on November 25, 2003 by a vote of 54 to 44 (Roll Call 459). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this landmark legislation establishes a major new, unconstitutional entitlement program.

Country of Origin Labeling. The House version of H.R. 2673 (Fiscal 2004 Omnibus Appropriations) included a provision stating: "None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act shall be used for the implementation of Country of Origin Labeling for meat or meat products." The intent of this provision, of course, is to end country of origin labeling requirements for meat by denying the funding for enforcement. During Senate consideration of this legislation, Senator Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) offered an amendment expressing the "sense of the Senate" that the Senate conferees insist that no such restriction on the use of funding appear in the final version of the bill.

The Senate rejected a motion to table (kill) this amendment to H.R. 2673 on November 6, 2003 by a vote of 36 to 58 (Roll Call 443). We have assigned pluses to the "nays" -- that is, those who opposed killing the amendment -- because country of origin labeling is a useful tool for (to quote the Constitution) "regulating commerce with foreign nations." The Daschle amendment was adopted by voice vote later the same day.

Agriculture Appropriations. The Senate version of H.R. 2673 would appropriate $79.7 billion for agriculture, rural development, and nutrition programs in fiscal 2004. Over half of the money appropriated by this "agriculture" bill is earmarked for so-called mandatory spending on nutrition programs, including $30 billion for food stamps and $16 billion for school lunch and other nutrition programs. (See House version below.)

[ House Version: H.R. 2673 would appropriate $77.5 billion for agriculture, rural development and nutrition programs in fiscal 2004. Over half of the money appropriated by this "agriculture" bill is earmarked for so-called mandatory spending on nutrition programs, including $28 billion for food stamps and $16 billion for school lunch and other nutrition programs. Total spending for traditional agricultural programs is $26.8 billion, a 5 percent increase. ]

The Senate passed H.R. 2673 on November 6, 2003 by a vote of 93 to 1 (Roll Call 444). We have assigned a plus to the nays because federal aid to farmers and federal food aid to individuals are unconstitutional activities of the federal government.

Data Mining. This amendment to S. 1753 (National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act of 2003) would require each federal agency or department engaged in data mining to submit a public report to Congress. Data mining involves the use of computer systems to scan through vast amounts of electronic information to detect patterns and trends. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced this amendment because of his concerns about Total Information Awareness-type programs being developed at various federal agencies. His amendment would require the reports to Congress to assess "the likely impact of the implementation of the data-mining technology on privacy and civil liberties...."

The Senate agreed to a motion to table (kill) this amendment to S. 1753 on November 4, 2003 by a vote of 61 to 32 (Roll Call 435). We have assigned pluses to the "nays" -- that is, those who opposed killing the amendment -- because federal data mining activity is clearly a threat to the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."

Global Warming. This substitute amendment to S. 139 (Climate Stewardship Act of 2003) by Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) would mandate that so-called greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 2000 levels by 2010. Greenhouse gases would be defined as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. Other provisions of the substitute amendment include a program of scientific research on climate change, a national greenhouse database, and a market driven system of greenhouse gas tradable allowances.

The Senate rejected this substitute amendment to S. 139 on October 30, 2003 by a vote of 43 to 55 (Roll Call 420). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this amendment would have established restrictions on so-called greenhouse gas emissions based on the myth of catastrophic global warming.

Partial-birth Abortion Ban. The final version (conference report) of S. 3 would ban partial-birth abortions. Although on March 12 the Senate had amended their version of S. 3 to include a reaffirmation of Roe v. Wade, on September 30 a 10-member House-Senate conference committee agreed to report out a final version of the bill identical to one (H.R. 760) that passed the House earlier this year without any reaffirmation of Roe v. Wade. Of course, all abortion procedures should be banned. But this bill is still a step in the right direction in that it is better to ban one abortion procedure than to ban none at all.

The Senate adopted the conference report on S. 3 on October 21, 2003 by a vote of 64 to 34 (Roll Call 402). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because all forms of abortion constitute the murder of preborn children, and the Supreme Court, in its Roe v. Wade decision, overstepped its proper authority by "legalizing" abortion in the first place.

Supplemental Spending for Iraq & Afghanistan. The Senate version of this bill (S. 1689) would appropriate $86.5 billion in fiscal 2004 supplemental spending for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike the House version (H.R. 3289), S. 1689 also included an amendment requiring that $10 billion of the approximately $20 billion in Iraqi reconstruction aid be initially offered as a loan -- and be converted into a grant only if 90 percent of Iraq's bilateral debts, estimated at $130 billion, are forgiven by its creditors. (This amendment was deleted from the final version of this legislation, known as the conference report. The conference report was approved by voice vote in the Senate and roll call vote in the House.)

The Senate passed S. 1689 on October 17, 2003 by a vote of 87 to 12 (Roll Call 400). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the U.S. military was sent into Iraq to enforce UN resolutions, when the only proper use of our nation's armed forces is to protect the lives and property of American citizens, and the huge U.S.-funded infrastructure rebuilding program in Iraq and Afghanistan is another example of unconstitutional foreign aid.

Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. The Senate version of this bill (H.R. 2660) would appropriate $472 billion for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Departments for fiscal 2004, a 10 percent increase over fiscal 2003. This bill, the biggest of the fiscal 2004 domestic spending bills, includes $138 billion for discretionary spending. (Since the Senate version of H.R. 2660 is virtually identical to the House version, see House version below for additional details.)

[ House Version H.R. 2660 would appropriate $470 billion for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Departments for fiscal 2004, a 10 percent increase over fiscal 2003. This bill, the biggest of the fiscal 2004 domestic spending bills, includes $138 billion for discretionary spending, including $55.4 billion for education and $22.7 billion for the National Institutes of Health. That leaves $332 billion for so-called mandatory spending on entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment insurance. ]

The Senate passed H.R. 2660 on September 10, 2003 by a vote of 94 to 0 (Roll Call 347). We have assigned minuses to the yeas because this bill represents a significant increase in spending, and these departments are not authorized by the Constitution.

U.S.-Singapore Trade. This bill (H.R. 2739) would implement a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and Singapore. A similar bill, the U.S.-Chile Trade Agreement (H.R. 2738), was presented to Congress at the same time as the U.S.-Singapore Trade Agreement. These are the first in a series of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) that the Bush administration is negotiating, which will culminate in 2005 in the largest and most significant FTA of them all, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The model for the FTAA is the European Union (EU), formerly the "Common Market," which has grown by design from a supposed free trade agreement into a supranational government for Europe. The world order architects intend for the FTAA to follow the same trajectory for the Americas.

The Senate passed H.R. 2739 on July 31, 2003 by a vote of 66 to 32 (Roll Call 318). We have assigned pluses to the nays because these bilateral "free trade" agreements are intended to be stepping-stones to the FTAA, which would set trade (and eventually other) policies for the member nations. However, under the U.S. Constitution only Congress has the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states...."

U.S.-Chile Trade. This bill (H.R. 2738) would implement a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and Chile. (The significance of this trade agreement, like that of the U.S.-Singapore Trade Agreement, is described below.)

[ U.S.-Singapore Trade. This bill (H.R. 2739) would implement a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and Singapore. A similar bill, the U.S.-Chile Trade Agreement (H.R. 2738), was presented to Congress at the same time as the U.S.-Singapore Trade Agreement. These are the first in a series of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) that the Bush administration is negotiating, which will culminate in 2005 in the largest and most significant FTA of them all, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The model for the FTAA is the European Union (EU), formerly the "Common Market," which has grown by design from a supposed free trade agreement into a supranational government for Europe. The world order architects intend for the FTAA to follow the same trajectory for the Americas. ]

The Senate passed H.R. 2738 on July 31, 2003 by a vote of 65 to 32 (Roll Call 319). We have assigned pluses to the nays because these bilateral "free trade" agreements are intended to be stepping-stones to the FTAA, which would set trade (and eventually other) policies for the member nations. However, under the U.S. Constitution only Congress has the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states...."

Fuel Economy Standards. This amendment to S. 14 (Energy Policy Act of 2003) by Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) would mandate an increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The CAFE standard for passenger vehicles made before 2006 would be 25 miles per gallon. From model years 2006 to 2015 the CAFE standard would gradually increase to 40 miles per gallon. This new standard would initially be less than the current 27.5 miles per gallon, but only because "passenger automobile" would be redefined to include the previously exempted SUVs and passenger vans.

Since neither legislators nor manufacturers have a magic wand to reduce the amount of gas required to move a certain mass a certain distance, this radical legislation -- akin to ordering the sun never to set -- would effectively force manufacturers to reduce vehicle size, thereby limiting consumer choices and making vehicles less safe.

The Senate rejected this amendment to S. 14 on July 29, 2003 by a vote of 32 to 65 (Roll Call 309). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this amendment would have authorized unconstitutional regulation of consumer choice of vehicle size.

Tax Reductions. The final version of the $350 billion tax-cut package (the conference report on H.R. 2) would provide tax breaks over 11 years. Dividends, currently taxed the same as other earned income, would instead be taxed at 15 percent for most taxpayers through 2008. Lower-income dividend recipients would be taxed at 5 percent through 2007 and nothing in 2008. The current 20 percent top rate on capital gains on investments held at least one year would drop to 15 percent, with lower-income investors paying 5 percent through 2007 and nothing in 2008. Both dividend and capital gains tax reductions would expire after 2008. Among other tax reductions, income tax cuts enacted in 2001 for individuals and scheduled to be effective in 2006 would be accelerated; parents would receive refunds of up to $400 per child this summer.

The Senate adopted the conference report on H.R. 2 on May 23, 2003 with Vice President Cheney casting a yea vote to break a 50 to 50 tie (Roll Call 196). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because this bill will cut taxes for large numbers of Americans, both individuals and businesses.

Debt Limit Increase. This resolution (House Joint Resolution 51) would raise the public debt ceiling by $984 billion. Last year the public debt ceiling was increased by $450 billion. These huge increases in the public debt ceiling are necessitated by the fact that federal spending is increasing -- and so are the annual deficits. The solution is not to allow the federal government to borrow more money but to cut spending.

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 51 on May 23, 2003 by a vote of 53 to 44 (Roll Call 202). We have assigned pluses to the nays because raising the public debt limit by $984 billion facilitates continued, gross fiscal irresponsibility.

Budget Resolution -- Final Version. The final version (conference report) of the budget resolution (House Concurrent Resolution 95) would authorize federal spending for fiscal 2004 of $1,861 billion dollars with a deficit of $558 billion and an increase in the public debt ceiling of $984 billion. This planned deficit of $558 billion dwarfs the previous record federal deficit of $290 billion in 1992. The $984 billion increase in the public debt ceiling authorized in this bill constituted, under Rule XXVII of the House, approval of the debt limit increase bill (House Joint Resolution 51) without having to cast a separate vote just on increasing the debt ceiling. Subsequently the Senate passed H. J. Res. 51 and President Bush signed it into law, increasing the public debt ceiling by $984 billion (for a new total of $7.4 trillion) and giving Congress a green light to continue its fiscally irresponsible ways. This resolution also includes $400 billion for a Medicare prescription drug benefit for 2004-2013.

The Senate adopted the conference is similar to H.R. 2185. It would extend the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 through November; however, it would provide 26 weeks of federal aid, compared to 13 weeks in H.R. 2185, to workers in all states who have exhausted their 26 weeks of state unemployment benefits. There would be an additional seven weeks of federal aid for workers in the states with the highest unemployment.

A point of order was raised against Kennedy's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. The Senate failed to waive the Budget Act with respect to Kennedy's amendment on May 15, 2003 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 152). A three-fifths majority vote (60) of the total Senate is needed to waive the Budget Act. We have assigned pluses to the nays because federal aid to unemployed workers is unconstitutional.

State Aid. This proposed amendment to the Senate version of the tax reductions bill (S. 1054) would provide $40 billion in aid to states. Half of this would be for general revenue sharing with states and their local governments. The other half would be used to increase federal Medicaid assistance to states for the last two quarters of fiscal 2003 and all of fiscal 2004.

A point of order was raised against this amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. The Senate failed to waive the Budget Act with respect to the amendment on May 15, 2003 by a vote of 47 to 52 (Roll Call 158). A three-fifths majority vote (60) of the total Senate is needed to waive the Budget Act. We have assigned pluses to the nays because federal aid to the states for revenue sharing and medical assistance is unconstitutional.

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) Funding. This proposed amendment to the Senate version of the budget resolution (Senate Concurrent Resolution 23) resembles H.R. 1350 as considered by the House (see House bill below). However, whereas the House bill would gradually increase the federal government's share of aid for educating special education students from 18 percent to 40 percent by 2010, this amendment would immediately increase the federal government's share to 40 percent in fiscal 2004 and maintain this level over the next 10 years -- increasing federal IDEA spending by $229 billion over that same period.

[ H.R. 1350 would reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. One of its provisions would authorize increasing federal grants to defray more of the state cost of educating special education students, from the current 18 percent to 40 percent by 2010. Other provisions would allow school personnel to discipline special education students the same as non-disabled students, reduce paperwork requirements for special education teachers, and limit parentsâ€™ ability to sue school districts. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 1350 would cost $50 billion over the 2004-2009 period. ]

The Senate rejected this amendment on March 26, 2003 by a vote of 28 to 70 (Roll Call 103). We have assigned pluses to the nays because federal aid to education is unconstitutional.

COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Funding. This proposed amendment to the Senate version of the budget resolution (Senate Concurrent Resolution 23) states: "It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this resolution assume that an increase of $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 for the Department of Justice's community oriented policing program will be provided without reduction and consistent with previous appropriated and authorized levels." This amendment was introduced because the president had only requested $164 million for the COPS program for fiscal 2004. Adoption of this amendment would express the sense of the Senate that funding for the COPS program should be continued at the same level as for fiscal years 2002 and 2003, $1 billion per year.

The Senate rejected this amendment on March 21, 2003 by a vote of 48 to 52 (Roll Call 78). We have assigned pluses to the nays because federal aid to local police forces invites federal control and is unconstitutional.

Roe v. Wade Support. This proposed amendment to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban (S. 3) states: "It is the sense of the Senate that -- (1) the decision of the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)) was appropriate and secures an important constitutional right; and (2) such a decision should not be overturned." Since this amendment supporting Roe v. Wade was adopted, we have opted to score the vote on this amendment rather than the vote on the resulting, severely compromised, Senate bill to ban partial-birth abortion.

The Senate adopted this amendment on March 12, 2003 by a vote of 52 to 46 (Roll Call 48). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Roe v. Wade should be overturned on the basis that all forms of abortion constitute the murder of unborn children -- and that the Supreme Court was overstepping its proper authority by "legalizing" abortion in the first place.

Moscow Treaty. This treaty, known as the "Moscow Treaty," would require both the United States and Russia to reduce their respective nuclear stockpiles to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2012. This treaty is a continuation of the decades-old U.S. program for "general and complete disarmament" originally proposed in the 1961 State Department document Freedom From War. Under that plan, the goal is to disarm all countries, including the U.S., to "a point where no state would have the military power to challenge the progressively strengthened U.N. Peace Force."

The Senate ratified the Moscow Treaty on March 6, 2003 by a vote of 95 to 0 (Roll Call 43). We have assigned minuses to the yeas because the Moscow Treaty is just one more step in a UN disarmament process that would culminate in the complete loss of our national sovereignty.

Fiscal 2003 Omnibus Appropriations. The final version (conference report) of House Joint Resolution 2 would provide $397 billion in fiscal 2003 for all Cabinet departments and government agencies covered in 11 unfinished spending bills from the 107th Congress. The bills included are: Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-State, District of Columbia, Energy and Water Development, Foreign Operations, Interior, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, Transportation, Treasury-Postal Service, and VA-HUD. The problem with the omnibus approach is that thousands of unconstitutional activities are lumped together with legitimate legislation in one massive bill. Thus, big government is perpetuated with a minimum of accountability.

The Senate adopted the conference report on H. J. Res. 2 on February 13, 2003 by a vote of 76 to 20 (Roll Call 34). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill perpetuates huge amounts of unconstitutional federal spending.

War Authorization Against Iraq. This joint resolution (House Joint Resolution 114) authorizes the president "to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to â€” (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq." However, since the Constitution gives Congress the sole responsibility for declaring war, this resolution represents congressional abdication of its responsibility.

Furthermore, the main thrust of the joint resolution is that the president is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States to "strictly enforce through the United Nations Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq." That is, the purpose of the resolution is to enforce UN Security Council dictates.

The Senate passed the resolution on October 11, 2002 by a vote of 77 to 23 (Roll Call 237). Because the Senate adopted the identical measure the House had passed the previous day, the Senate vote completed congressional action. We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Agriculture Disaster Aid. During consideration of the appropriations bill for the Interior Department (H.R. 5093), Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) offered an amendment to provide almost $6 billion in "disaster" aid to farmers affected by drought. This new aid would be in addition to the money provided by the 10-year farm bill enacted last May. That bill will cost $781 billion according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) raised a point of order against Daschle's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Daschle moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to his amendment, and his motion was agreed to on September 10, 2002 by a vote of 79 to 16 (Roll Call 212). We have assigned pluses to the nays. The Senate subsequently agreed to Daschle's amendment by voice vote.

Arming Commercial Pilots. During consideration of the bill to establish a cabinet-level Homeland Security Department (H.R. 5005), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) offered an amendment that would establish a voluntary program to deputize qualified commercial pilots, who would then be allowed to be armed.

The Senate adopted the amendment on September 5, 2002 by a vote of 87 to 6 (Roll Call 210). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Trade Promotion Authority. The final version (conference report) of H.R. 3009 would give President Bush Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for congressional consideration of trade agreements reached before June 1, 2005. President Bush has made it abundantly clear that he intends to use TPA to complete negotiations on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by early 2005. The FTAA could be modeled after the EU, but is designed to evolve toward a full-blown regional government at a greatly accelerated pace.

The Senate adopted the conference report on August 1, 2002 by a vote of 64 to 34 (Roll Call 207). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

[ During consideration of the drug patents bill (S. 812), Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) offered an amendment "to provide coverage of outpatient prescription drugs under the Medicare program." As summarized by Congressional Quarterly, the drug prescription plan "would cover the vast majority of drug costs for low-income elderly and those who spend $4,000 or more a year on prescription drugs. But all seniors would receive at least a 5 percent discount." The total cost would be an estimated $400 billion over 10 years.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) raised a point of order against Graham's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to Graham's amendment, but Kennedy's motion was rejected on July 23, 2002 by a vote of 52 to 47 (Roll Call 186). ]

Sen. William Frist (R-Tenn.) raised a point of order against the Graham/Smith compromise amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Graham moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to the Graham/Smith amendment, but his motion was rejected on July 31, 2002 by a vote of 49 to 50 (Roll Call 199). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Medical Assistance. Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D-W.V.) offered an amendment to another amendment to the drug patents bill to increase Medicaid and social service funding by $9 billion.

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) raised a point of order against Rockefeller's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to Rockefeller's amendment, and Reid's motion was agreed to on July 25, 2002 by a vote of 75 to 24 (Roll Call 190). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Prescription Drug Plan. During consideration of the drug patents bill (S. 812), Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) offered an amendment "to provide coverage of outpatient prescription drugs under the Medicare program." As summarized by Congressional Quarterly, the drug prescription plan "would cover the vast majority of drug costs for low-income elderly and those who spend $4,000 or more a year on prescription drugs. But all seniors would receive at least a 5 percent discount." The total cost would be an estimated $400 billion over 10 years.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) raised a point of order against Graham's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to Graham's amendment, but Kennedy's motion was rejected on July 23, 2002 by a vote of 52 to 47 (Roll Call 186). A three-fifths majority vote of the total Senate is needed to waive the Budget Act. We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Nuclear Waste Storage. This measure (Senate Joint Resolution 34) would approve the federal site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for developing a national repository for disposing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The amount of waste produced by nuclear energy is so small compared to the amount of energy generated that nuclear power plants have been able to store decades worth of spent fuel on-site. Yet a national repository is needed for the accumulating spent fuel.

The Senate on July 9, 2002 voted 60 to 39 for a motion to consider the measure (Roll Call 167). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Military Abortions. During consideration of the defense authorization bill (S. 2514), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) offered an amendment to allow U.S. servicewomen and military dependents to obtain abortions at overseas U.S. military hospitals.

The Senate adopted the amendment on June 21, 2002 by a vote of 52 to 40 (Roll Call 160). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Terrorism Insurance. This bill (S. 2600) would create a new federal program for assuming much of the recovery costs from future, catastrophic terrorist attacks. The federal program would cover "80 percent of that portion of the amount of aggregate insured losses that ... exceeds the participating insurance company deductible required to be paid for those insured losses" up to $10 billion, and 90 percent of such losses between $10 billion and $100 billion. The program would terminate one year after the bill's enactment, unless the treasury secretary decides to extend it for an additional year. The Senate passed the bill on June 18, 2002 by a vote of 84 to 14 (Roll Call 157).

Estate Tax Elimination. Last year's $1.35 trillion, 10-year tax-reduction package phases out the estate tax (a.k.a. the death tax), finally ending it in 2010. But this and other cuts in the bill are sunset after 2010, meaning that the cuts will be reversed in 2011 unless Congress makes the cuts permanent. This year, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) offered an amendment to H.R. 8 to eliminate permanently the estate tax.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) raised a point of order against Gramm's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Gramm moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to his amendment, but his motion was rejected on June 12, 2002 by a vote of 54 to 44 (Roll Call 151). A three-fifths majority vote of the total Senate is needed to waive the Budget Act. We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Debt Limit Increase. This bill (S. 2578) would increase the legal limit on the national debt by $450 billion, from $5.95 trillion to $6.4 trillion. The Senate passed S. 2578 on June 11, 2002 by a vote of 68 to 29 (Roll Call 148).

Supplemental Appropriations. The fiscal 2002 supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 4775) would provide $31.5 billion for "further recovery from and response to terrorist attacks" for the fiscal year ending September 30th, including $14 billion for the Defense Department, $5.8 billion for homeland security programs, and $5.5 billion for New York City post-September 11th recovery efforts. The bill, which is $1.4 billion more expensive than the House-passed version according to the budget committees, would also fund programs unrelated to the terrorist attacks, such as $2.5 million for mapping Hawaiian Coral Reefs. Supplemental appropriations are in addition to the funding already provided through the regular appropriations process.

The Senate passed the bill on June 7, 2002 by a vote of 71 to 22 (Roll Call 145). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Coral Reef Mapping. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) offered an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill to strike provisions earmarking $2.5 million for mapping the coral reefs in Hawaii. Noting the bill's title ("Making supplemental appropriations for further recovery from and response to terrorist attacks..."), McCain argued: "I knew of many devastating effects of the terrorist attacks on our homeland. I did not know of any disruption of the coral reefs in Hawaii associated with the terrorist attacks...."

A motion to table (kill) McCain's amendment was agreed to on June 6, 2002 by a vote of 65 to 31 (Roll Call 137). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Agricultural Research Service. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced an amendment to the fiscal 2002 supplemental appropriations bill to strike a provision that would provide $50 million for Agricultural Research Service (ARS) buildings and facilities at the National Animal Disease Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. McCain said that his amendment "would remove extraneous items from the supplemental and emergency appropriations bill." He also pointed out that the additional $50 million was not needed since $90 million had already been provided for the same purpose for fiscal 2002.

A motion to table (kill) McCain's amendment was agreed to on June 6, 2002 by a vote of 72 to 24 (Roll Call 138). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

International Criminal Court. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) proposed an amendment to add the "American Servicemembers' Protection Act" to the supplemental appropriations bill. Warner argued that his amendment "would protect U.S. military personnel and other elected and appointed officials of the U.S. Government against potential criminal prosecution" by the International Criminal Court, a tribunal to which the U.S. is not a party. The amendment would authorize the president to "use all means necessary and proper" to release U.S. servicemen or officials detained by the court.

The Senate adopted Warner's amendment on June 6, 2002 by a vote of 75 to 19 (Roll Call 140). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

AIDS Funding. The fiscal 2002 supplemental appropriations bill would provide $100 million for an additional U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Combat AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced an amendment to increase the new contribution from $100 million to $500 million. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who opposed the amendment, noted that "we have in this year's budget alone $12.5 billion committed to AIDS."

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) raised a point of order against Durbin's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Durbin moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to his amendment, but his motion was rejected on June 6, 2002 by a vote of 46 to 49 (Roll Call 141). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

AIDS Funding. After rejecting Durbin's amendment to provide $500 million instead of $100 million in new funding for the Global Fund to Combat AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (see Senate Amendment below), the Senate considered an amendment by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) to make $200 million available for that purpose.

[ Durbin's amendment: The fiscal 2002 supplemental appropriations bill would provide $100 million for an additional U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Combat AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced an amendment to increase the new contribution from $100 million to $500 million. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who opposed the amendment, noted that "we have in this year's budget alone $12.5 billion committed to AIDS." ]

The Senate adopted Helms' amendment on June 6, 2002 by a vote of 79 to 14 (Roll Call 142). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Summer School Programs. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill to provide $150 million in "emergency summer school funding" for the fiscal year ending September 30th. This funding would be in addition to the education funding already made available for the fiscal year.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) raised a point of order against Kennedy's amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Kennedy moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to his amendment, but his motion was rejected on June 5, 2002 by a vote of 38 to 60 (Roll Call 132). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Airline Bailout. The supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal 2002 (H.R. 4775) contained a provision that would have capped the amount of federal loan guarantees available to airlines for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that this provision would have lowered the total cost of the bill by $393 million in fiscal 2002.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) introduced an amendment to strike this provision of the bill. The Senate adopted his amendment on June 4, 2002 by a vote of 91 to 4 (Roll Call 131). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Trade Promotion Authority. This bill would authorize Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), formerly known as fast-track authority, for President Bush. (See description below for a summary of TPA).

[ Trade Promotion Authority. This bill (H.R. 3005) would give President Bush Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), formerly known as fast-track authority, to negotiate so-called free trade agreements. Under the TPA rules, Congress would only be allowed to vote yes or no on any free trade agreements presented to it by the Bush administration. President Bush has repeatedly stated that he would use TPA to complete negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by the end of his first term. Under the guise of "free trade," the FTAA would put us on the path to loss of sovereignty in a regional government of the Western Hemisphere, in the same manner that European nations are now losing sovereignty to the EU. ]

The Senate-passed version of the bill (H.R. 3009) was broader than the House-passed bill by not only including TPA but extending trade preferences for four Andean nations and substantially expanding federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), including new medical insurance subsidies for workers who lose their jobs to foreign competition. The TAA benefits expansion would cost an estimated $12 billion over 10 years.

The Senate passed H.R. 3009 on May 23, 2002 by a vote of 66 to 30 (Roll Call 130). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

NATO Expansion. This bill (H.R. 3167) supports President Bush's plans to further expand NATO and authorizes military assistance to several countries in the former Soviet bloc. NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was established as a regional arrangement under the United Nations for the ostensible purpose of containing Communism. Now that "post-Soviet" Russia is a partner in NATO, that rationale no longer applies. But NATO is still useful to the world order architects by providing the means to deploy troops for UN missions without placing those troops directly under the UN. It also commits the U.S. to defend any NATO member that is attacked.

The Senate passed H.R. 3167 on May 17, 2002 by a vote of 85 to6 (Roll Call 116). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Farm Bill. The final version (conference report) of H.R. 2646 amends and extends the major farm income support, land conservation, food assistance, trade promotion, rural development, research, forestry, and energy programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When combined with estimated spending already authorized prior to enactment of this law, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that "H.R. 2646 will bring total spending for the above programs to $73.7 billion in 2002 ... and $869.3 billion over the 2002-2012 period. Of these totals, food assistance programs account for $51.3 billion in 2002 ... and $626.8 billion over the 2002-2012 period." Constitutionalists have denounced H.R. 2646 because it repudiates free-market principles and authorizes vast amounts of unconstitutional spending.

The Senate passed the final version (conference report) of the farm bill (H.R. 2646) May 8, 2002 by a vote of 64 to 35 (Roll Call 103). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Automobile Fuel Consumption. During consideration of the energy bill (S. 517), Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) offered an amendment to require new regulations for automobiles manufactured after model year 2006 to reduce oil consumption by at least one million barrels per day by 2015. Carper's amendment didn't specify how this objective would be achieved; possibilities include raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards or requiring alternative fuels.

The Senate tabled (killed) the Carper amendment on April 25, 2002 by a vote of 57 to 42 (Roll Call 90). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Alternative Vehicles. During consideration of the energy bill (S. 517), Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) offered an amendment to "strike the provisions relating to alternative vehicles and fuels incentives." Those provisions would provide $2.1 billion in credits for Americans who buy fuel cell, hybrid, and alternative fuel vehicles. The credit would vary depending on the vehicle; the average credit for an alternative fuel vehicle would be about $5,000.

The Senate tabled (killed) the Kyl amendment on April 25, 2002 by a vote of 91 to 8 (Roll Call 91). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Elections. The Senate-passed version of this legislation (S. 565) -- like the House-passed version would overhaul the nation's election procedures, including authorizing $400 million in one-time payments for states and counties to replace or upgrade punch card voting machines. The bill would also authorize $2.25 billion for states over three years to improve the administration of elections and mandate "minimum" federal election standards. This intervention by Congress in state elections threatens our federal system. According to Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution, Congress is authorized to alter state election procedures for federal offices: "The times, places and manner of holding elections, for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof, but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations...." However, Founder Alexander Hamilton asserted that Congress should only use this authority to "make or alter such regulations" in "extraordinary circumstances."

The Senate passed S. 565 on April 11, 2002 by a vote of 99 to 1 (Roll Call 65). We have assigned a plus to the lone nay.

Campaign Financing. This bill (H.R. 2356) would restrict our God-given right of free speech through banning "soft money" donations to national political parties and preventing issue ads from mentioning specific candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary. In contrast, the First Amendment to the Constitution states: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech...."

The Senate passed H.R. 2356 on March 20, 2002 by a vote of 60 to 40 (Roll Call 54). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Alaskan Pipeline. During consideration of the energy bill (S. 517), Senator Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) offered an amendment to prohibit constructing a natural gas pipeline eastward from the Prudhoe Bay area through the adjacent coastal area of the energy-rich Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and on into Canada and the lower forty-eight states. This amendment would in effect mandate that the already-proposed natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to the lower forty-eight be constructed south from Prudhoe Bay through the Fairbanks area before entering Canada. Daschle argued that the southern route through Fairbanks would "avoid the environmental pitfalls that construction could have on the fragile northern Alaska environment." Senator Don Nickles (R-Okla.) opposed this Daschle amendment: "I would like to think we believe in the free market system enough to where we would let the marketplace decide what is the best route, what is the most economical route, what is the route that will do the least environmental damage ."

The Senate adopted Daschle's amendment on March 6, 2002 by a vote of 93 to 5 (Roll Call 41). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Estate Tax. The tax-cut reconciliation bill enacted in 2001 phases out the estate tax, finally abolishing it in 2010. Unfortunately, this and the other tax-cut provisions in the bill are sunset after 2010, meaning that the tax cuts will be reversed in 2011 unless Congress acts to make the cuts permanent. During consideration of the farm bill (S. 1731), Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) offered an amendment to express the sense of the Senate that the estate tax's repeal be made permanent. The farm bill is an appropriate vehicle for this "sense of the Senate" amendment since the estate tax, aka the death tax, has been responsible for liquidating family farms and other small privately owned businesses asset "rich" but cash poor.

The Senate adopted Kyl's amendment on February 13, 2002 by a vote of 56 to 42 (Roll Call 28). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Farm Bill. The Senate version of the farm bill (S. 1731) would authorize $578.5 billion over 10 years for federal agriculture programs, including $73.4 billion in new spending above the Congressional Budget Office baseline.

Prior to voting on final passage, the Senate effectively adopted the House bill number (H.R. 2646) for the farm bill. The Senate passed its version of the legislation on February 13, 2002 by a vote of 58 to 40 (Roll Call 30). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

A point of order was raised against Baucus' amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. The Senate waived the Budget Act with respect to Baucus' amendment on February 12, 2002 by a vote of 69 to 30 (Roll Call 251). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. The final version (conference report) of H.R. 3061 would appropriate $407.7 billion for fiscal 2002 for the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education departments, including $123.4 billion in "discretionary" spending. This bill would provide more than $51 billion for federal aid to education, including funding for the education overhaul bill (H.R. 1) with its new annual state testing program. Total spending for HHS would increase by nearly 14 percent over fiscal 2001. The Education department would receive 15 percent more than last year.

The Senate adopted the conference report on December 20, 2001 by a vote of 90 to 7 (Roll Call 378). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Education. Education. The final version (conference report) of H.R. 1 would overhaul education proposals to increase school accountability and reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for six years. This bill would require states to test students in reading and math in grades three through eight annually, provide new accountability measures for schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress, and give schools greater flexibility to spend federal funds. It would include about $26.3 billion for federal elementary and secondary education programs and $13.5 billion for Title I programs for disadvantaged children in fiscal 2002. According to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas): "H.R. I will lead to de facto, if not de jure, national testing.... Under the United States Constitution, the federal government has no authority to hold states 'accountable' for their education performance. In the free society envisioned by the founders, schools are held accountable to parents, not federal bureaucrats...."

The Senate adopted the conference report on December 18, 2001 by a vote of 87 to 10 (Roll Call 371). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Dairy Subsidies. During consideration of the farm bill (S. 1731), Senator Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) offered an amendment that would have eliminated the bill's $2 billion subsidy program for dairy farmers.

The Senate tabled (killed) Crapo's amendment on December 11, 2001 by a vote of 51 to 47 (Roll Call 362). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

International Criminal Court. During consideration of the Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 3338), Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) offered an amendment to protect U.S. military personnel and officials against prosecution "by an international criminal court to which the United States is not a party." His amendment would prohibit U.S. cooperation with the ICC and restrict U.S. involvement in peacekeeping missions unless the UN exempts U.S. soldiers from ICC prosecution. It would also authorize the president to rescue U.S. soldiers improperly handed over to the ICC.

Prior to voting on this amendment, the Senate considered an amendment by Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) that would have gutted Helms' amendment. Dodd's amendment stated that anyone who "commits crimes against humanity should be brought to justice" and that the president should have "the ability to cooperate with foreign tribunals and other international legal entities...."

The Senate rejected Dodd's amendment on December 7, 2001 by a vote of 48 to 51 (Roll Call 358). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

International Criminal Court. The Helms amendment offered an amendment to protect U.S. military personnel and officials against prosecution "by an international criminal court to which the United States is not a party." His amendment would prohibit U.S. cooperation with the ICC and restrict U.S. involvement in peacekeeping missions unless the UN exempts U.S. soldiers from ICC prosecution. It would also authorize the president to rescue U.S. soldiers improperly handed over to the ICC.

The Helms amendment was adopted on December 7, 2001 by a vote of 78 to 21 (Roll Call 359). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

VA-HUD Appropriations. The final version (conference report) of H.R. 2620 would appropriate $112.7 billion for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and 20 independent agencies in fiscal 2002. HUD's portion is $30 billion. The agencies include NASA, the EPA, and FEMA. Congressmen arguing that they voted for this legislation to preserve VA programs should have voted against it, insisting that the myriad (and often unconstitutional) spending programs it contains be divided into separate parts, allowing for a vote on each.

The Senate adopted the conference report on November 8, 2001 by a vote of 87 to 7 (Roll Call 334). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. The Senate version of this mammoth spending bill (H.R. 3061) would appropriate $407.6 billion in fiscal 2002, including $123.1 billion in "discretionary spending," for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Departments, and related agencies. The spending includes $302.7 billion for HHS and $51.2 billion for the Education Department. Total spending would increase by nearly 12 percent over the previous fiscal year ($365 billion).

The Senate passed H.R. 3061 on November 6, 2001 by a vote of 89 to 10 (Roll Call 324). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Anti-Terrorism Authority. The Senate adopted the House version of the anti-terrorism bill (H.R. 3162) without amendment on October 25, 2001.

H.R. 3162, known as the "USA Patriot Act," was passed by the House on October 24th, passed by the Senate the next day, and signed into law the day after that. The Act, introduced in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, gives law enforcement and intelligence agencies vast new powers to combat terrorism. It expands the list of crimes deemed terrorist acts; increases the ability of law enforcement to secretly search homes and business records; expands the FBI's wiretapping and surveillance authority; and provides for nationwide jurisdiction for search warrants and electronic surveillance devices, including the legal extension of those devices to e-mail and the Internet. The bill includes a "sunset" provision under which the new surveillance powers "shall cease to have effect on December 31, 2005." The very presence of that provision underscores the justifiable concern of some lawmakers that those new powers could be abused.

The vote was 98 to 1 (Roll Call 313). We have assigned a plus to the nay.

Interior Appropriations. The final version (conference report) of H.R. 2217 would appropriate $19.1 billion in fiscal 2002 for the Interior Department and related agencies. The total spending in the bill was slightly higher than that of either the House- or Senate-passed versions of the legislation ($18.9 and $18.7 billion respectively). The Interior appropriations included $1.9 billion for the anti-private property Bureau of Land Management. It also included $125 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities and $115 million for the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Senate adopted the conference report on October 17, 2001 by a vote of 95 to 3 (Roll Call 304). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Aviation Security. The Aviation Security Act (S. 1447) would federalize security at airports and make baggage and passenger screeners at the nation's 142 largest airports federal employees. (The attorney general could allow smaller, non-hub airports to use state or local law enforcement personnel.) S. 1447 would also provide for more air marshals on commercial flights and require the strengthening of the cockpit door and locks. And it would impose a $2.50 per passenger surcharge for each flight leg.

The Senate passed S. 1447 on October 11, 2001 by a vote of 100 to 0 (Roll Call 295). We have assigned minuses to the yeas.

Anti-Terrorism Authority. The Senate passed two versions of the antiterrorism bill: S. 1510 and H.R. 3162. The latter became law (see House bill below for a summary of the legislation in its final form) Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), who warned that the bill's new police and surveillance provisions threatened civil liberties, was the only senator to vote against S. 1510 and H.R. 3162.

[ Anti-Terrorism Authority. H.R. 3162, known as the "USA Patriot Act," was passed by the House on October 24th, passed by the Senate the next day, and signed into law the day after that. The Act, introduced in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, gives law enforcement and intelligence agencies vast new powers to combat terrorism. It expands the list of crimes deemed terrorist acts; increases the ability of law enforcement to secretly search homes and business records; expands the FBI's wiretapping and surveillance authority; and provides for nationwide jurisdiction for search warrants and electronic surveillance devices, including the legal extension of those devices to e-mail and the Internet. The bill includes a "sunset" provision under which the new surveillance powers "shall cease to have effect on December 31, 2005." The very presence of that provision underscores the justifiable concern of some lawmakers that those new powers could be abused. ]

The Senate passed S. 1510 on October 11, 2001 by a vote of 96 to 1 (Roll Call 302). We have assigned a plus to the lone nay.

Vietnam Trade. House Joint Resolution 51 would allow the president to grant Normal Trade Relations (formerly Most Favored Nation trade status) to Vietnam on an annual basis. This status would reduce the tariffs on imports from the despotic Communist regime.

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 51 on October 3, 2001 by a vote of 88 to 12 (Roll Call 291). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Airline Bailout. After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the House voted on a bailout for the airline industry known as the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (H.R. 2926). This Act would provide $5 billion in cash, and up to $10 billion in loan guarantees, for air carriers.

The Senate passed S. 1450 on September 21, 2001 by a vote of 96 to 1 (Roll Call 284). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Export Administration Act Reauthorization. The Senate version of the export-control bill (S. 149) would give the Commerce Department the role of determining which dual-use technologies should be subject to export restrictions. In the House version of the bill the Commerce Department's role would be shared with the State and Defense Departments, which would presumably be more sensitive to America's foreign policy and national security interests. But both bills would eliminate current restrictions on the export of technology that is mass-marketed or readily available abroad.

The Senate passed 5. 149 on September 6, 2001 by a vote of 85 to 14 (Roll Call 275). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Gun Buyback Programs. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered an amendment to make available $15 million from the Housing Drug Elimination Program section of the VA-HUD appropriations bill "for the BuyBack America program, enabling gun buyback initiatives undertaken by public housing authorities and their local police departments."

The Senate voted 65 to 33 on August 2, 2001 to table (kill) the Schumer amendment (Roll Call 267). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

VA-HUD Appropriations. The Senate version of H.R. 2620 would appropriate $113.4 billion for the Departments of Veteran Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and 20 independent agencies in fiscal 2002. The total appropriation is slightly more than that of the House version.

The Senate passed H.R. 2620 on August 2,2001 by a vote of 94 to 5 (Roll Call 269). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Arsenic Standard for Drinking Water. During consideration of the VA-HUD appropriations bill (H.R. 2620), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) offered an amendment intended to force the EPA to establish a stricter standard for arsenic in drinking water. Boxer argued that the current standard of 50 parts per billion was "way too high."

The Senate adopted the Boxer amendment on August 1, 2001 by a vote of 97 to 1 (Roll Call 265). We have assigned a plus to the lone nay.

In an October 31st letter to Congress, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said the agency would adopt a standard, which must be met by 2006, of just 10 parts per billion. That's "the equivalent of one teaspoon per 1.3 million gallons of water" according to the New York Times! Compliance will be costly for rural communities that will have to spend heavily on water treatment facilities.

Supplemental Agriculture Assistance. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) offered a substitute amendment that would have replaced the provisions of the bill to provide additional subsidies to farmers (S. 1246). Adopting the substitute amendment would have reduced the cost of the bill from $7.4 billion to $5.5 billion.

The Senate voted 52 to 48 on July 31st to table (kill) the substitute amendment (Roll Call 261). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Mexican Trucks. During consideration of the Transportation appropriations bill, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) offered an amendment to prohibit the imposition of safety requirements on Mexican trucks traveling in the U.S. that did not also apply to American and Canadian trucks. The intent behind the Gramm amendment was to open up American highways to Mexican long-haul trucks in support of the North American Free Trade (NAFTA) Agreement.

The Senate tabled (killed) the Gramm amendment on July 25, 2001 by a vote of 65 to 35 (Roll Call 250). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Energy and Water Appropriations. H.R. 2311 would appropriate $25.1 billion for the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, water projects, and related agencies in fiscal 2002. The lion's share of the money in the bill is for the Energy Department. The Senate version of H.R. 2311 would appropriate $1.4 billion more than that of the House version.

The Senate passed H.R. 2311 on July 19, 2001 by a vote of 97 to 2 (Roll Call 240). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Oil and Gas Development in the Gulf of Mexico. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) offered an amendment to prohibit the use of funds in H.R. 2217 "to execute a final lease agreement for oil and gas development in the area of the Gulf of Mexico known as 'Lease Sale 181.'" The amendment would have blocked all new leases off Florida's Gulf coast.

The Senate voted 67 to 33 on July 12, 2001 to table (kill) the Nelson amendment (Roll Call 231). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Klamath Basin. During consideration of H.R. 2217, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) offered an amendment aimed at ending the federal policy that has denied water to, and devastated the livelihoods of, farmers in the Kiamath Basin of southern Oregon and northern California. The water was ostensibly withheld so that endangered suckerfish could survive a drought. Smith explained that his intent was "to go back to a biological opinion ... that would have permitted this drought to be managed as were the droughts in 1992 and 1994, in which the suckerfish survived, as did the agricultural community around it."

The Senate voted 52 to 48 on July 12, 2001 to table (kill) the Smith amendment (Roll Call 232). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Oil and Gas Exploration in National Monuments. During consideration of the Interior Department appropriations bill (H.R. 2217), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) offered an amendment to prohibit the use of funds in the bill "to conduct any preleasing, leasing, or other related activity under the Mineral Leasing Act ... or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act" in areas designated as national monuments. "The purpose of my amendment is to stop oil and gas drilling on national monuments across the United States," Durbin explained. During his presidency, Bill Clinton expanded national monuments markedly through executive orders.

The Senate rejected a motion to table (kill) the Durbin amendment on July 11, 2001 by a vote of 42 to 57 (Roll Call 229). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Eliminating the Tax Rebates. During consideration of S. 1077, a supplemental appropriations bill, Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) offered an amendment that would have repealed the rebates taxpayers received in the mail later in the year. Hollings argued that the federal government's "surplus" had disappeared and that the money for the rebate was needed for various programs -- citing specifically defense, education, and prescription drugs. "[D]on't throw the money around and then cry the rest of the year we don't have the money," he complained to his colleagues.

The Senate rejected the Hollings amendment on July 10, 2001 by a vote of 3 to 94 (Roll Call 223). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Global AIDS Funding vs. National Defense. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) offered an amendment to S. 1077 to increase funding for a global fund to combat AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis by $593 million, and to offset this increase by rescinding funds for the Navy's V-22 Osprey aircraft procurement account. Feingold claimed that his amendment offered a "clear choice" between allocating the funds "somewhat irrationally" (by which he meant the procurement account) and redirecting them towards "an unquestionably worthwhile purpose."

The Senate voted 79 to 20 on July 10, 2001 to table (kill) the Feingold amendment (Roll Call 225). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Education Spending Bill. This vote is similar to that described under House bill (below), except that it spends even more money in fiscal 2002 ($27.7 billion) and would authorize spending for an even longer period of time (through fiscal 2008).

[ Education Reauthorization. The "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," the main elementary and secondary educational authorization bill for fiscal 2002, would increase spending for fiscal 2002 by an unbelievable 28 percent over fiscal 2001. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the total cost of this bill (which, by the way, is only a portion of federal education spending) "would total approximately $23 billion in 2002 and about $135 billion over the 2002-2006 period...." ]

The Senate passed H.R. 1 on June 14, 2001 by a vote of 91-8 (Roll Call 192). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Tax Cut Reconciliation Conference Report. This conference report is similar to H.R. 1836, in that it would cut all income tax rates slightly, double the per child tax credit from $500 to $1,000, alleviate the marriage penalty, phase out and finally abolish the estate tax in 2010, and increase income tax exemptions for IRAs and Educational Savings Accounts. Unfortunately, all provisions of the bill are sunset after 2010, meaning that the estate tax and current high income tax rates would be restored in 2011 unless Congress acts to make the cuts permanent. Despite this flaw, the bill would nevertheless give beleaguered taxpayers several much needed breaks in their tax bills.

The Senate adopted the conference report on May 26, 2001 by a vote of 58-33 (Roll Call 170). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Death Tax Repeal. This vote is analogous to that described under House version (below), except that this amendment by Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) would eliminate the estate tax repeal in the underlying tax cut bill.

[ House version: Death Tax Repeal. This legislation would phase out and completely repeal the Marxist federal inheritance tax that has been on the statute books since 1916. While opponents of the legislation painted the bill as a means of helping the rich, the truth is that this tax traditionally has put poor people out of work by liquidating family farms and small privately owned businesses that are asset "rich" but cash poor. No other tax contributes more to the trend toward the amalgamation of business into huge corporate empires than the death tax; the only way many small businesses and farms can stay in operation after the death of the owner is either through incorporation or through the sale of the private firm to a large corporation. ]

The Senate rejected the Conrad amendment to H.R. 1836 on May 22, 2001 by a vote of 42-57 (Roll Call 158). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Education Spending Increase ($120 Billion). During consideration of the income tax cut bill, Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) made this motion to recommit the bill to committee with instructions that the committee send the bill back with $120 billion less in income tax relief and $120 billion more in spending for federal education programs.

The Senate rejected a motion to waive the Budget Act point of order against the Wellstone amendment on May 21, 2001 by a vote of 41-58 (Roll Call 121). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Eliminate Income Tax Cuts. This amendment by Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) would eliminate repeal of the estate tax and most of the income tax cuts in the bill and devote the additional tax revenue towards Social Security and a new Medicare prescription drug benefit.

The Senate rejected a move to waive the Budget Act point of order against the Byrd amendment on May 21, 2001 by a vote of 39-60 (Roll Call 122). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Marriage Penalty Elimination. This amendment by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) to the tax cut bill would eliminate the "marriage penalty" in the income tax laws by the year 2008 and substantially increase the standard deduction for married couples beginning in 2002.

The Senate rejected the Hutchison amendment to H.R. 1836 on May 17, 2001 by a vote of 27-73 (Roll Call 113). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Federal Teacher Funding Increase. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered this amendment which would express the sense of the Senate that Congress should appropriate $3 billion in fiscal 2002 for the hiring of teachers. Under the Kennedy amendment, appropriations for such purposes would reach $6 billion by 2008. "This amendment says that we should fully fund the $3 billion which is in the authorization to make sure all the teachers who are going to be teaching poor children are qualified," Kennedy remarked. "It says we ought to add $500 million each additional year, so that in the last year there will be a total of $6 billion a year in funding..."

The Senate adopted the Kennedy amendment to S. 1 on May 8, 2001 by a vote of 69-31 (Roll Call 94). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Massive Agriculture Spending I Increase. Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) explained that "this amendment would increase the spending on agriculture to a total of $98 billion, all of which will come out of the taxes we intend to give back to the American people."

The Senate rejected the amendment to H. Con. Res. 83 on April 4, 2001 by a vote of 47-53 (Roll Call 68). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Billions from Tax Cut to Education. This amendment by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would eliminate $448 billion of the proposed tax cut and allot half the amount ($224 billion!) to increase education spending. The remainder would be applied to debt reduction, until the big spenders in Congress find some other way to spend it.

The Senate agreed to the Harkin amendment to H. Con. Res. 83 on April 4, 2001 by a vote of 53-47 (Roll Call 69). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

New $311 Billion Medicare Prescription Drug Boondoggle. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) offered this amendment to double the funds for a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare. "It basically doubles the amount that is available from $153 billion to $311 billion.... To offset the cost, our amendment reduces the size of the tax cut by $158 billion."

The Senate rejected the amendment on April 3, 2001 by a vote of 50-50 (Roll Call 66). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance. The intent behind the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance bill is to squelch criticism of government and elected officials. The bill would further limit contributions by organizations and corporations to political parties and require most organizations criticizing federal elected officials to file financial reports with the FEC. Regulations under McCain-Feingold and Shays-Meehan (the corresponding House version of the bill) would essentially require disclosure of the names and political finances of political activists. The bill would not abolish or directly restrict free speech and free press. But requiring disclosure is a measure of political control by intimidation.

The Senate passed S. 27 on April 2, 2001 by a vote of 59-41 (Roll Call 64). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Require Broadcasting Stations to Give Free Airtime to Federal Candidates. This amendment to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill would require broadcasting stations airing criticisms of political candidates to give those candidates free airtime in the same time slots to respond to the criticisms. The amendment is a clear violation of the First Amendment protection of freedom of the press, but the extent to which it protects political incumbents is not discernable until one notices that the amendment includes no exemption if the media organ is doing the criticism itself (rather than running paid advertisements from a citizen group). As such, under this amendment conservative talk radio would be virtually co-hosted by far-left political candidates.

The Senate tabled (killed) this amendment to S. 27 on March 29, 2001 by a vote of 72-28 (Roll Call 60). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Partial Federal Financing of Congressional Elections. This amendment would set up the same unnecessary and constitutionally unauthorized taxpayer campaign subsidy system for congressmen as already exists for presidential candidates. Noting that only 12 percent of taxpayers checked the box on their income tax forms last year to fund presidential elections, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stated: "Clearly, this is an idea that is overwhelmingly unpopular with the American people."

The Senate rejected the amendment to S. 27 on March 27, 2001 by a vote of 30-70 (Roll Call 52). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Constitutional Amendment to Allow LP Federal Regulation of Political Speech. This vote was on the adoption of a constitutional amendment to give Congress "power to set reasonable limits on the amount of contributions that may be accepted by, and the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate for nomination for election to, or for election to, Federal office." The amendment is an outright attack on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) explained that "the Hollings constitutional amendment [sums] up the reformers' agenda for the past quarter century as they have sought to root out of American political life any speech or activity which could conceivably affect an election or be of value to a politician."

The Senate rejected S. J. Res 4 on March 26, 2001 by a vote of 40-56 (Roll Call 47). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Bankruptcy Overhaul. As the National Chamber of Commerce noted in its analysis of the bankruptcy reform bill, this legislation was aimed at the "more than 100,000 bankruptcy filers [who] are abusing the system every year by discharging debts that they have the ability to repay." Under this underlying bipartisan bill, "Abusers of the bankruptcy system, those median income who earn more than the and can afford to repay a significant portion of their debts, will be required to pay back what they can afford." This legislation would allow persons saddled with unexpected medical bills or other hardships a fresh start through bankruptcy while generally preventing the abusive or habitual use of bankruptcy by sheltering fewer assets from seizure under bankruptcy proceedings.

The Senate passed S. 420 on March 15, 2001 by a vote of 83-15 (Roll Call 36). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

A Bankruptcy Overhaul -- Democratic Substitute. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) explained that this Democratic substitute amendment would gut the provisions of the underlying bill (S. 420 -- Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001): "Frankly, it is just an amendment that would substitute the current legislation with the bankruptcy reform bill that passed the Senate in the 105th Congress."

The Senate tabled (killed) the amendment to S. 420 on March 14, 2001 by a vote of 64-35 (Roll Call 27). We have as signed pluses to the yeas.

Ergonomics Regulation Repeal. Congress had long demonstrated a complete lack of interest in enacting ex-pensive and unconstitutional national ergonomics standards. So President Bill Clinton dumped onerous OSHA-instituted ergonomics rules on the American people in the closing days of his administration, and arranged for those rules to take effect a mere four days before the inauguration of George W. Bush. "Ergonomics" is the design of equipment and work environments to best suit a worker's health and productivity, and ergonomic regulations are generally federal rules mandating standards of worker comfort in the workplace. Representative Tom Davis (R-Va.) described the expansive scope of the OSHA regulations: "By OSHA's own estimates, this ergonomic rule will cover over 102 million employees, 18 million jobs, and 6.1 million businesses and cost almost $100 billion a year to implement." Passage of S. J. Res. 6 would provide congressional disapproval of the OSHA ergonomics rule and declare that the "rule shall have no force or effect."

The Senate adopted the joint resolution on March 6, 2001 by a vote of 56-44 (Roll Call 15). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Release of $582 million in UN "Dues." This bill would release $582 million to the United Nations as a second of three payments to the world body for "back dues" allegedly owed by the United States. The UN -- in accordance with the intent of the new world order elite -- has become more aggressive in recent years in its pursuit of the powers of a world tyranny. The world body is seeking, through its International Criminal Court treaty, the power to bring any person in the world to trial. The UN is also seeking a global tax power and has proposed a global ban of private ownership of firearms. The Senate passed the bill on February 7, 2001 by a vote of 99-0 (Roll Call 10).

Ashcroft Nomination. The nomination of former Senator John Ashcroft to be U.S. attorney general was a key vote because he had aroused the ire of the Left. Although Ashcroft had compiled one of the more conservative voting records during his six years in the Senate, earning a cumulative "Conservative Index" rating of 76 percent, during the confirmation hearings he pledged to consolidate the Clinton-era gains of the Left on abortion, gun control, and other issues. As a result, only the more radical leftists opposed Ashcroft's nomination.

The Senate approved the Ashcroft nomination on February 1, 2001 by a vote of 58-42 (Roll Call 8). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

China PNTR. This bill, H.R. 4444, would grant Communist China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR), and thereby abolish the annual review process of Chinese NTR. It would also pave the way for Chinese entry into the World Trade Organization. The bill would all but guarantee that the tyrannical Chinese government will continue to receive billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer-subsidized trade annually through export subsidy programs such as the Export-Import Bank and multilateral organs such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Although many of those promoting PNTR for China have claimed to be doing so on the basis of "free trade," just five days earlier the Senate had voted down -- by voice vote -- an amendment by Senator Ernest Hollings (D-SC) that would have allowed PNTR but abolished U.S. export subsidies to China.

The Senate passed H.R. 4444 on September 19, 2000 by a vote of 83-15 (Roll Call 251). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Helms Amendment to China Trade. Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) explained that his amendment "directs the President to certify that China has met a series of human rights conditions prior to granting PNTR to Communist China." The Helms amendment would prohibit the granting of "free trade" privileges to China under Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) until China has abolished the Laogai prison-labor system and released all religious prisoners and labor leaders. In essence, the Helms amendment affirms the self-evident truth that free trade with slaves is a contradiction, and that only when China is at least partly free should trade relations be normal.

The Senate rejected the Helms amendment to H.R. 4444 on September 12, 2000 by a vote of 32-63 (Roll Call 239). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Marriage Penalty Repeal Conference Report. This measure would phase out over five years the marriage penalty in the income tax code. The marriage penalty taxes dual-income married families at a higher rate than couples who live together but are not married. Representative Jerry Weller (R-IL) explained that this vote was about "a very basic, fundamental question," namely: "Is it right that 25 million married working couples, 50 million taxpayers, pay on average $1,400 more in higher taxes just because they are married?"

The Senate adopted the conference re-port on H.R. 4810 on July 21, 2000 by a vote of 60-34 (Roll Call 226). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Abolish Sugar Subsidy. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) offered this amendment to ban funds from being used for the federal sugar subsidy program, which is largely a corporate welfare program for a few huge sugar plantation owners. "I do not quite understand how my free-enterprise, free-market, less-government-intervention, less-government-regulation colleagues will come here to the floor and argue that somehow this program is good for American citizens. It is not," McCain argued. "Clearly, the facts state that it is a subsidy paid to a privileged few and it costs American taxpayers and American families a great deal of additional money."

The Senate tabled (killed) the McCain amendment on July 20, 2000 by a vote of 65-32 (Roll Call 219). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Fiscal 2001 Agriculture Appropriations. This massive $77.4 billion appropriations bill would fund federal agricultural subsidy programs -- as well as the federal Food Stamp program, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and several other programs -- throughout fiscal 2001. Although this bill represents about an 8 percent cut from fiscal 2000, none of the programs funded by this bill are authorized by the U.S. Constitution.

The Senate passed H.R. 4461 on July 20, 2000 by a vote of 79-13 (Roll Call 225). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Ban New National Monuments. Introduced by Senator Don Nickles (R-OK), this amendment is similar to that described in House bill (below), except that it is not retroactive to 1999.

[ Ban New National Monuments. This amendment by Representative James Hansen (R-UT) would ban the use of funds for the implementation of "National Monuments" designated by the president since 1999. President Clinton has used a loophole in the 1906 Antiquities Act to lock up millions of acres of land from human usage. Representative Don Young (R-AK) explained that "this President is using this act ... to designate and to dictate the use of lands. Under the Constitution, it says only the Congress shall have that responsibility.... I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. Yet, we sit in this body and allow this act to be misused by this administration and say, oh, it is to protect those lands.... This is against the Constitution. He is not protecting what should be protected. He, in fact, is running this as a fiefdom and a kingdom." ]

The Senate rejected the Nickles amendment to H.R. 4578 on July 18, 2000 by a vote of 49-50 (Roll Call 208). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Marriage Penalty Repeal. This measure would phase out over five years the marriage penalty in the income tax code. The marriage penalty taxes dual-income married families at a higher rate than couples who live together but are not married. Representative Jerry Weller (R-IL) explained that this vote was about "a very basic, fundamental question," namely: "Is it right that 25 million married working couples, 50 million taxpayers, pay on average $1,400 more in higher taxes just because they are married?"

The Senate passed H.R. 4810 on July 18, 2000 by a vote of 61-38 (Roll Call 215). We have assigned pluses to the yeas. Because this version of the bill had to be reconciled with that of the House, the Senate had another opportunity to vote on this important issue.

Estate Tax Repeal. The "Death Tax Elimination Act" would phase out over 10 years the Marxist inheritance tax that is decimating family farms across the United States. While the federal inheritance tax does not go as far as the third plank in Marx's Communist Manifesto, which called for "abolition of all rights of inheritance," it does tax up to 60 percent of the value of inheritances.

The Senate passed H.R. 8 on July 14, 2000 by a vote of 59-39 (Roll Call 197). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Social Security Earnings Tax Hike Repeal. This amendment by Senator Rod Grams (R-MN) is identical to the bill described in House bill H.R. 4865.

[ House Bill: Social Security Earnings Tax Hike Repeal. This bill, H.R. 4865, would repeal the 1993 Clinton-Gore tax increase on Social Security benefits. Under the provisions of the 1993 law, seniors still in the work force making more than $34,000 per year had income taxes assessed against 85 percent of their Social Security checks, up from 50 percent in years prior. This bill would bring the proportion of benefits taxed back down to 50 percent. ]

The Senate adopted the Grams amendment to H.R. 8 on July 13, 2000 by a vote of 58-41 (Roll Call 188). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Federal Funds for Distributing "Morning-After" Pill on School Grounds. Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) offered this amendment to ban the use of federal funds in the fiscal 2001 Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill from being used to distribute the "morning-after" pill on school grounds to minors.

An attempt to table (kill) the Helms amendment to H.R. 4577 was defeated on June 30, 2000 by a vote of 41-54 (Roll Call 169). We have assigned pluses to the nays. The tabling motion having failed, the Helms amendment was then adopted by voice vote.

$8.4 Billion in New Education Spending. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) offered this amendment to increase spending on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) from the $7.4 billion in the pending bill ($6.0 billion in fiscal 2000) to $15.8 billion. More than doubling the cost of this huge program prompted even big spenders like Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) to remark that "I want to see a lot more funding in a lot more places,... but this is just over the top."

The Senate rejected a motion to waive the Budget Act on the Harkin amendment to H.R 4577 on June 30, 2000 by a vote of 40-55 (Roll Call 170). Failing to receive the three-fifths vote needed to waive the Budget Act, the Harkin amendment died. We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Welfare State Mother Lode. This legislation is similar to that described in House bill (below), except that at $354.6 billion it is several billion dollars more expensive than the House version.

[ Welfare State Mother Lode. This U colossal $351.8 billion fiscal 2001 Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill represents a spending increase of more than seven percent over fiscal 2000. Representative David Obey (D-WI) crowed that Republicans and Democrats were in a bidding war for welfare state spending: "This is ironic given the fact that all day long we were told by the majority that we could not get a vote on the amendments that we were offering on our side of the aisle because they exceeded the numbers in the budget resolution?" ]

The Senate passed H.R. 4577 on June 30, 2000 by a vote of 52-43 (Roll Call 171). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Total Federal Control Over Health Insurance Industry. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduced this amendment to mandate that all state and private health insurance plans cover operations and procedures dictated by the federal government. The amendment would dictate to states what benefits they ought to pay their employees by decreeing "a floor of federal protection that is applicable to all individuals enrolled in private health plans or private health insurance coverage, including individuals enrolled in health insurance coverage purchased in the individual market; and ... individuals enrolled in health plans offered to State and local government employees." Senator Don Nickles (R-OK) summarized the amendment this way: "We want the Federal Government to set standards, and, oh, States, you have to meet these standards. If not, the Federal Government is going to take over."

The Senate rejected the Dorgan amendment to H.R. 4577 on June 29, 2000 by a vote of 47-51 (Roll Call 167). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

$400 Million More for 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) offered this amendment to increase to $1 billion the fiscal 2001 appropriation for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers federal after-school program. The bill already contained an appropriation of $600 million, which was itself an increase from $453 million in fiscal 2000.

The Senate rejected a motion to waive the Budget Act on the Dodd amendment to H.R. 4577 on June 28, 2000 by a vote of 48-51 (Roll Call 154). Having failed to get the three-fifths vote needed to waive the Budget Act, the point of order against the Dodd amendment was upheld and the amendment fell. We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Increased Education Spending. "This amendment just simply says," according to author Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), that "we should go from $8.36 billion to $10 billion -- a slight increase." Only a profligate socialist who is generous with someone else's money -- in this case, money owned by U.S. taxpayers -- could term a $1.64 billion increase "slight." The pending fiscal 2001 appropriation of $8.36 billion for Title I education spending already represented a five percent increase over fiscal 2000.

The Senate rejected a motion to waive the Budget Act on the Wellstone amendment to H.R. 4577 on June 27, 2000 by a vote of 47-52 (Roll Call 146). Having failed to get the three-fifths vote needed to waive the Budget Act, the point of order against the Wellstone amendment was upheld and the amendment fell. We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Cut Anti-Drug Foreign Aid Increase by $734 Million. Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA) introduced this amendment to cut the anti-drug foreign foreign aid allotment for South and Central America from $934 million down to $200 million. Although Gorton's amendment represents a sizable cut in the amount budgeted for the program in the fiscal 2001 foreign aid appropriations bill, the remaining $200 million is still quadruple the $50 million appropriated during fiscal 2000.

The Senate rejected the Gorton amendment to S. 2522 on June 21, 2000 by a vote of 19-79 (Roll Call 139). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Tax Subsidized Abortions on Military Bases. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) offered this amendment to lift the ban on abortions at military base hospitals abroad, if military personnel pay the cost of the operation themselves. Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) explained that despite the requirement that military personnel would be required to pay the cost of the operation, the Murray amendment "would essentially require tax funds to be used to aid in elective abortions. Military hospitals and medical clinics are built with American tax dollars. Military physicians, nurses, and other support personnel are paid by federal tax dollars.... Even if the abortion procedure itself was not directly paid for by federal funds, federal tax dollars would have to be used to train military physicians to perform abortions."

The Senate tabled (killed) the Murray amendment to S. 2549 on June 20, 2000 by a vote of 50-49 (Roll Call 134). We have assigned pluses to those who voted yea to table the amendment.

Federalizing "Hate Crimes" Related to Gender and "Sexual Orientation." Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) offered this amendment to add "gender," "sexual orientation" and "disability" to the list of federally designated victim groups protected under "Hate Crimes" law, thereby dramatically expanding federal jurisdiction. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) explained that the Kennedy amendment "would make a federal case out of every single hate-motivated crime that occurs in this country -- including all rapes and sexual assaults, which currently are prosecuted under State law."

The Senate adopted the Kennedy amendment to S. 2549 on June 20, 2000 by a vote of 57-42 (Roll Call 136). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Presidential Nuclear Disarmament Waiver. This amendment offered by Senator John Warner (R-VA) would replace language in an amendment by Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE) to the 2001 Defense authorization bill. Kerrey's amendment would have given the president the power to unilaterally reduce nuclear arms without the approval of Congress. Currently the president must get congressional approval to do so. Warner's amendment would give the president the ability to waive the limitation only after the Department of Defense did a nuclear overview study to be completed by December 2001. Although congressional approval should not be circumvented under any circumstances, this late date means that President Clinton would be unable to reduce the number of nuclear weapons on his own, restricting him in his negotiations of an arms deal with Russia.

The Warner amendment to S. 2549 passed the Senate on June 7, 2000 by a vote of 51-47 (Roll Call 119). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Farm Subsidies. This vote was to adopt the final version (conference report) of the bill that would provide $8.2 billion over the next five years for increased crop insurance subsidies. Currently, the federal government pays 13 to 57 percent of crop insurance premiums, but this bill would increase that portion to a range of 38 to 67 percent of the premiums. The aim of the increase is to curtail large emergency payments. This bill also would provide for $7.1 billion in economic assistance to farmers affected by low prices. All of this aid is especially irksome since the 1996 "Freedom to Farm" law passed by Congress was supposed to wean farmers off of harmful government subsidies.

The conference report on the farm subsidies bill, H.R. 2559, passed the Senate on May 25, 2000 by a vote of 91-4 (Roll Call 115). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Troops in Kosovo. This amendment would strike the provision in the military construction appropriations bill that would terminate funding for continued troop deployment in Kosovo unless Congress authorized the deployment. The provision also declared that no more than 75 percent of year 2000 supplemental spending for Kosovo could be obligated until the president certified that the European allies were paying specific percentages of the costs involved. If the administration did not certify those requirements by July 15, 2000, then the remaining money could be used only to withdraw the troops.

The amendment to strike the Kosovo provision of S. 2521 passed the Senate on May 18, 2000 by a vote of 53-47 (Roll Call 105). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Gun Control. This sense of the Senate vote was offered by Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) to commend the organizers of the Million Mom March and urge Congress to give swift approval to H.R. 1501, the "Juvenile Justice Reform Act," which would increase federal control of local police through new federal programs that employ federal funds.

This sense of the Senate measure, S. 2521, passed the Senate on May 17, 2000 by a vote of 50-49 (Roll Call 104). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

"Centrist" Democrat Substitute for ESEA. This proposed substitute to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) would increase spending on this program by $35 billion over five years. Yet this Democratic alternative was referred to by its supporters as "centrist" since it would entail block grants to the states (a GOP-favored approach), which would then allocate the money for the public schools, as opposed to allocating the money directly.

The Democrat substitute for S. 2 was rejected on May 9, 2000 by a vote of 13-84 (Roll Call 95). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Class Size Reduction. This amendment proposed by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) would provide $1.75 billion in 2001 for measures to reduce class size. These measures would include recruiting and hiring new teachers, testing new teachers, and providing professional development. Yet, as Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) pointed out in debate, the teacher-pupil ratio has been falling for a half century, and test scores have been falling as well. Hutchinson also voiced concerns about the amendment being a step toward nationalizing education and that it would have the unintended consequence of teachers leaving the "worst schools ... to fill newly created affluent slots."

The class size reduction amendment to S. 2 was rejected by the Senate on May 4, 2000 by a vote of 44-53 (Roll Call 93). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Democrat Substitute for ESEA. This Democrat version of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) would provide money for many programs, including $2 billion for teacher recruitment and training, $1.75 billion to hire 100,000 new teachers, and $1.3 billion in grants and loans for emergency school repairs and renovations. States would also be required to come up with accountability plans and would be held accountable for student performance.

The Democrat substitute for S. 2 was rejected on May 3, 2000 by a vote of 45-54 (Roll Call 90). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Increase in Pell Grants. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) offered this amendment to increase by $400 the maximum individual grant through the Pell program. Currently the maximum allowable grant is $3,300. The proposed increase would mean that the program would cost a total of $1.4 billion a year.

The amendment to Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 increasing Pell grants was adopted on April 7, 2000 by a vote of 51-49 (Roll Call 69). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Democrat Budget Alternative. The Democrats' proposed substitute for the 2001 Budget Resolution would provide for $616 billion in discretionary spending in 2001, create a reserve fund of $40 billion over five years for Medicare prescription drug benefits, and allot $58.9 billion over five years for tax cuts. (The Republican version calls for $600.5 billion in discretionary spending, $40 billion over five years for Medicare prescription drug benefits, and $147.1 billion over five years for tax cuts.) Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) summed up what he saw as the major difference between the two versions saying, "We think this is not the time to grow Government that much, but, rather, leave a little more ... for tax relief for the American people." This is not to say, as Domenici would argue, that the GOP version was worthy of support either; it simply was not as bad as the Democrat alternative.

The Democrats' budget substitute for Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 was rejected on April 7, 2000 by a vote of 45-55 (Roll Call 71). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Medicaid Expansion. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) offered this amendment to the budget resolution to eliminate $11.2 billion in tax cuts and use what he termed as "savings" to provide health insurance to the parents of children covered by Medicaid and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Plan). Children are eligible for CHIP when their families' earnings are above the cut-off for Medicaid eligibility. Making clear that this expansion of the welfare state is "for the children," Kennedy insisted: "Parents are much more likely to enroll their children in health insurance programs, if the parents themselves can obtain coverage."

The Medicaid and CHIP expansion amendment to Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 was rejected by the Senate on April, 7, 2000 by a vote of 49-49 (Roll Call 78). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Education Funding Instead of Tax Cuts. This motion by Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) would table (kill) Senator Jeff Bingaman's (D-NM) amendment to the 2001 Budget Resolution. Bingaman's amendment would "redirect" $28.1 billion of the tax cut provision in the bill toward a plethora of federal education programs and would eventually increase the total amount for education over five years by $34.7 billion.

The motion to kill the education amendment to Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 was passed by the Senate on April 5, 2000 by a vote of 54-46 (Roll Call 54). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Television for "Underserved" Areas. This bill proposing a $1.25 billion loan guarantee program for local television in "underserved" areas is similar to House Vote (below).

[ Television for "Underserved" Areas. As a way of providing local television to 30 million households in areas of the country that cannot receive over-the-air signals or do not have local television through a satellite provider, this bill would create a new program that would provide $1.25 billion in loan guarantees to telecommunication providers. The loans would offer a competitive edge to satellite providers since cable companies cannot apply for the loans to expand their service. The loans would be administered by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service. Representative Christopher Cox (R-CA) in floor debate asserted that the Rural Utilities Service is "writing off billions of dollars in their existing loan portfolio left and right, at taxpayer expense, and ... about 30 to 40 percent of the loans that are going to get made under this program are likely to be written off. So one can look at the cost of this program [and see that] right up front [it] is about $400 million." ]

The bill, S. 2097, passed the Senate on March 30, 2000 by a vote of 97-0 (Roll Call 50). We did not assign any pluses, since there weren't any nays.

Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment. This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to grant Congress the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag. Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC), who argued for the amendment, stated that it would "once again give Congress the authority to protect the flag from physical desecration.... It would simply overturn a few very recent judicial decisions that rejected America's traditional approach to the flag under the law." However, if Congress truly wishes to rein in the Supreme Court with regard to flag burning, it can simply exercise its constitutional power to limit the Court's appellate jurisdiction (Article III, Section 2).

The proposed flag desecration constitutional amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 14, failed to attain the two-thirds majority required and was rejected on March 29, 2000 by a vote of 63-37 (Roll Call 48). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Teacher Training. Another amendment to S. 1134, this one offered by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would eliminate the education savings accounts increase provided by the bill, and would use the resulting $1.2 billion in revenue to train and recruit teachers. Under this amendment, states would be held accountable for having qualified teachers in classrooms within four years of enacting the legislation.

The teacher training/recruitment amendment to S. 1134 was rejected by the Senate on March 2, 2000 by a vote of 39-60 (Roll Call 25). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Exemptions to Achievement Standards. Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) offered this amendment to exempt students from proposed achievement standards if they had not been "afforded ... an opportunity to learn the material necessary to meet the State achievement standards." Vaguely worded definitions of "opportunity" would allow a multitude of exceptions to an already meddlesome proposed federal requirement for states and local school districts receiving funds to implement achievement standards.

The Wellstone amendment was rejected by the Senate on March 2, 2000 by a vote of 29-69 (Roll Call 30). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

"Educating" about Gun Violence. The February 29, 2000 shooting of a first-grader by her classmate in Flint, Michigan, was used as fodder for this amendment proposed by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL). The amendment would authorize up to $7 million in grants in 2001 and additional sums for the next four years to develop programs to reduce violence in schools, to indoctrinate children about the dangers of guns, and to provide violence-prevention information to children and parents.

The Durbin gun-violence amendment to S. 1134 passed the Senate on March 2, 2000 by a vote of 91-7 (Roll Call 32). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

School Construction. This vote concerns Senator William Roth's (R-DE) motion to kill Senator Charles Robb's (D-VA) amendment to the education savings accounts bill. Robb's amendment would provide $25 billion in federal tax credits to holders of "qualified school modernization bonds." It would also authorize $1.3 billion annually for five years in grants and zero-interest loans for school repairs. Of course, with federal money there is always a catch. As Roth stated in floor debate, "This program involves a dramatic increase in bureaucracy, while at the same time striking at the heart of local control of education...." State or local school districts would need to get the approval of the Department of Education in order to qualify for the bonds. The Department of Education then would make sure the district had completed all the surveys and studies required, and, in Roth's words, "Washington would be micromanaging a local school district's renovation plans ... second guessing the decision of state and local officials."

A motion to table (kill) the Robb amendment to S. 1134 passed the Senate on March 1, 2000 by a vote of 57-42 (Roll Call 17). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Special Education Funding. Currently, families can save $500 per year in tax-preferred accounts for education. A bill before the Senate would have allowed for an increase in that amount to $2,000 per year. However, Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) offered an amendment to the education savings account bill that would have disallowed that proposed increase and instead would have authorized the distribution to states over the next five years the sum of $1.2 billion for special education programs. Under the Dodd amendment, spending decisions would be made by the federal government rather than by parents who would otherwise have been able to decide for themselves how to spend the money accumulated in education savings accounts.

The Dodd special education amendment to S. 1134 was rejected by the Senate on February 29, 2000 by a vote of 44-54 (Roll Call 15). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Expanding the Welfare State. This legislation is identical to the legislation described in House Vote (below).

[ House - Welfare State Expansion. This $385 billion monstrosity constitutes a complete sellout of conservative principles to the demands of the welfare-staters at the White House. This measure would fund five regular annual appropriations bills (District of Columbia, Labor/HHS/Education, Foreign Operations, Commerce/Justice/State/Judiciary, and Interior), often at higher levels than were originally requested by the Clinton administration.

The Health and Human Services Department - the key welfare agency of the federal government - received an 11.4 percent increase in funding, more than Mr. Clinton originally requested. The Department of Education received a 6.8 percent increase in funding, also more than Mr. Clinton originally sought. Foreign aid spending was also funded at a higher level than originally sought by the President. President Clinton's federal teacher hiring initiative was granted $1.325 billion, the COPS program of federally paid law enforcement officers was awarded $595 million, and alleged "arrears" payments to the United Nations were authorized to the tune of $926 million.

Some Republicans falsely sold the bill to conservatives on the grounds that it contained a strong pro-life provision in the foreign aid section. But the bill allows President Clinton to waive the provision, a prohibition against funding international family-planning organizations, if he is willing to subtract a mere $12.5 million penalty from the $385 million population control budget. (Subsequently, this is exactly what Mr. Clinton did.) ]

The bill, the final version of H.R. 3194, was adopted by the Senate on November 19, 1999 by a vote of 74-24 (Roll Call 374). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Validating Roe v. Wade. This non-binding, "sense of Congress" measure would put Congress on record as stating that "Roe v. Wade was an appropriate decision," that giving mothers the ability to kill their babies in utero "secures an important constitutional right," and that Roe "should not be overturned." The 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision was a landmark in judicial activism; it single-handedly nullified the long-standing abortion laws in 50 states without citing a single precedent for High Court jurisdiction over abortion laws. Since the Roe decision, more than 38 million unborn children have been slaughtered with legalized abortion.

This measure, a second-degree amendment to the partial birth abortion ban bill (S. 1692), was adopted by the Senate on October 21, 1999 by a vote of 51-47 (Roll Call 337). We have assigned pluses to the nays. After the second-degree Roe amendment was added to the underlying amendment, the Roe amendment was added to the bill by voice vote.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This vote is on ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which would ban the testing of nuclear weapons by the United States. "The CTBT is a dangerous treaty which, if ratified, would do enormous harm to our national security," explained Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC). "It will not and cannot accomplish its highly exaggerated goal of halting the spread of nuclear weapons, because the CIA has repeatedly made clear that the CTBT cannot be verified. Moreover, at the same time, it would undermine America's security by undermining confidence in the safety and reliability of our nuclear arsenal."

The Senate rejected the treaty on October 13, 1999 by a vote of 48-51 (Roll Call 325). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Labor/HHS/Education Funding. This $318 billion bill is the main funding measure for the federal welfare state during fiscal 2000. The Senate big spenders not only increased the amount over fiscal 1999 by more than nine percent, they actually gave President Clinton $5.8 billion more than he requested.

The measure, S. 1650, was passed by the Senate on October 7, 1999 by a vote of 73-25 (Roll Call 321). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

After-School Child Care. This legislation would increase by $200 million the funding for federal after-school programs. This is yet another example of a legislative initiative by senators who propose to take money from people who earned it and distribute it to people who neither earned it nor have a moral claim to the funds.
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), who could almost fund the entire amendment out of his family's vast wealth, supported instead a taxpayer expenditure. He suggested that Congress eliminate the one percent rate cut on the lowest income tax bracket: "If we were able to have that amount of money that would be used in the tax cut, why not take $200 million of that $792 billion and put it in after-school programs to service 370,000 children?"

The Senate voted to table the after-school funding increase, an amendment to S. 1650, on September 30, 1999 by a vote of 54-45 (Roll Call 299). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

More Money for Federal Day Care. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) proposed a measure to increase the federal day care block grant program by $817 million, raising the total to $2 billion. Like the federal after-school programs described in Senate Vote (After-School Child Care), this amendment is yet another robbery clothed in parliamentary legalese. This proposal would take $817 million from the hard-working taxpayers who earned it and distribute it to needy people who have no moral claim on the funds.

The Senate rejected a motion to table (kill) the measure, an amendment on S. 1650, on September 30, 1999 by a vote of 41-54 (Roll Call 303). We have assigned pluses to the yeas. After the tabling motion failed, the amendment was adopted by voice vote.

Nationalizing Education. This vote was on a measure that would allocate $1.4 billion in the pending Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill toward President Clinton's latest socialist fancy: Hiring 100,000 teachers for local school districts from the federal till. The sickening part of the congressional debate was that both parties endorsed the erroneous notion that federal funding of education is both constitutional and a good thing, as if federal funds for education appear miraculously like manna from Heaven without first having been taken from American citizens by confiscatory taxation.

The Senate tabled (killed) the measure, an amendment to S. 1650, on September 29, 1999 by a vote of 54-44 (Roll Call 298). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Holbrooke Nomination. This vote was on the nomination of Richard Holbrooke to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Holbrooke is the author of the disastrous Dayton Accords, which sealed the fate of thousands of Serbs and produced the current, indefinite U.S. intervention in the Balkans. "I am voting against him," Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) declared, "because I disagree with the policy that he has put forward in the Balkans. I just can't, in good conscience, vote for someone who I think is taking our country in the wrong direction. This is his policy: that the United States should spend billions of dollars, wear and tear on our equipment and our troops, stretching our military for a goal that I believe is not achievable."

The Senate confirmed the nomination of Richard Holbrooke on August 5, 1999 by a vote of 81-16 (Roll Call 259). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

National Endowment for the Arts. This vote was on a measure proposed by Senator Robert Smith (R-NH) to eliminate $99 million slated for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), effectively abolishing the agency.

The U.S. Constitution does not grant to any branch of the federal government the power to fund art. Smith therefore reminded his colleagues of their oath of office. "We came here to pass laws that support the Constitution of the United States," Smith stated. "Whatever you may feel about this issue, we did not come here to pass laws about our personal beliefs.... When we swear to uphold that document, we agree to live by that vision whether we like it or not."

Sen. Smith's legislation, an amendment to H.R. 2466, was tabled (killed) by the Senate on August 5, 1999 by a vote of 80-16 (Roll Call 260). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Republican Tax Cut Package. This legislation is identical that described in House Vote (below).

[ House - Republican Tax Cut Package. The Republican tax plan would implement several tax cuts over a 10-year period. The legislation would cut the income tax rate by one percent beginning in 2005, but the tax cut would sunset by 2009. The measure would also cut the capital gains rate immediately by two percentage points, eliminate the marriage penalty under income taxes (starting in 2001), and phase out estate taxes until 2009 (after which the tax would be higher than current law).

The Republican Party trumpeted this bill as being a $792 billion tax cut, and the White House lobbied furiously against it claiming that the cuts were irresponsible. But the $792 billion figure is mere political posturing, since it is not only the projected total for a 10-year period but is based on projected costs in future years. Nevertheless, the bill was better than no tax cut at all and was deserving of support. ]

The measure, the final version of H.R. 2488, was adopted by the Senate on August 5, 1999 by a vote of 50-49 (Roll Call 261). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Eliminate Sugar Subsidy. This amendment would eliminate the federal sugar subsidy program, which creates import quotas, price supports, and loans to growers. Noting that the cost of this program to consumers is $1.4 billion in higher prices and higher taxes, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) explained that "the sugar program stifles competition. Seventeen growers get 38 percent of the benefit of this program...."

The measure, an amendment to S. 1233, was tabled (killed) by the Senate on August 4, 1999 by a vote of 66-33 (Roll Call 254). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

More Federal Education Spending. This amendment would simply express the "sense of the Senate" that $132 million of the proposed 10-year tax cut should be shifted to wasteful federal education programs. The proposal untruthfully states that the tax cut it would abolish, a one percent reduction in the rate of the lowest income tax bracket, would "disproportionately benefit upper income taxpayers." Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) argued against the amendment, noting that "If we do not pass the $792 billion tax relief, that money will not go toward paying down the national debt. It will, as already suggested in the speeches on the other side in the last few minutes, immediately go into more spending."

The Senate killed the measure, an amendment to S. 1429, defeating by a 48-52 vote on July 30, 1999 a waiver of a Budget Act point of order against the measure (Roll Call 232). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Minimum Wage Increase. A proposal by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) would increase the national minimum wage by one dollar, from $5.15 per hour to $6.15 per hour. Senator Don Nickles (R-OK) opposed the amendment, observing that "we should not be passing a law in a tax cut bill to say it is against the law anywhere in the country to work for $6.10 an hour, that the federal government, in its infinite wisdom, decided if you don't have a job that pays at least $6.15 an hour you should be unemployed."

Sen. Kennedy's measure, an amendment to S. 1429, was rejected by the Senate on July 30, 1999 by a vote of 46-54 (Roll Call 239). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

MFN/NTR Trade with Red China. This legislation is identical to the House Vote in that it would reverse President Clinton's decision to grant China "Normal Trade Relations" (formerly Most Favored Nation status). But the Senate dispensed with the measure in a different manner, voting on whether to discharge the resolution from the Senate Finance Committee for a vote on passage instead of voting on the resolution itself.

The Senate rejected the discharge motion on the bill, S.J. Res. 27, on July 20, 1999, by a vote of 12-87 (Roll Call 213). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Subsidized Trade with Vietnam. "Vietnam has historically not been eligible to take advantage of American taxpayer-funded programs which subsidize business deals between American companies and the Communist Government agencies in Hanoi," explained Senator Robert Smith (R-NH). "That is, until last year."

In 1998 President Clinton issued a waiver of the Jackson-Vanik law for Communist Vietnam, giving a green light to federal corporate subsidy programs beneficial to the Red regime. Sen. Smith's legislation would overturn Clinton's waiver and ban taxpayer subsidies from going to the butchers in Hanoi through programs such as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Export-Import Bank, and U.S. Department of Agriculture subsidy programs.

A discharge motion on Sen. Smith's bill (S. J. Res 28) would have brought the measure from the Finance Committee to the floor for a vote on passage. The Senate rejected the motion on July 20, 1999 by a vote of 5-94 (Roll Call 214). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.

Subsidizing Abortions. This measure, an amendment to ban federal financing of employee abortions, is identical to House Vote (below). It was adopted by voice vote after a tabling motion failed.

[ House - Subsidizing Abortions. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) proposed a measure that would allow abortions to be included as medical expenses in the health care coverage the federal government subsidizes for its employees. Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA), opposing DeLauro's proposal, explained that "the unborn baby in the womb is not a potential life. It meets all of the criteria of a life, the criteria that I used to use as a practicing physician to determine whether somebody is alive or dead: a beating heart, active brain waves." ]

The tabling (killing) motion on the measure, an amendment to S. 1282, was rejected by the Senate on July 1, 1999 by a vote of 47-51 (Roll Call 197). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

End Aggression Against Yugoslavia. Senator Robert Smith (R-NH) proposed a measure to prohibit military aggression by the U.S. government against Yugoslavia after October 1, 1999. Unlike Senator Specter's amendment (below), this measure would require an end to the air war as well. Sen. Smith noted: "Every single person out there who has a son or daughter old enough to serve in the military should ask themselves: Is it worth my son's or daughter's life to die in Yugoslavia for a humanitarian crisis that does not involve the national security of the United States?"

[ Specter's amendment - Combat Troops to Yugoslavia. A proposal by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) would prohibit any funds in the Defense Department authorization bill from being used to introduce combat troops into Yugoslavia, including Kosovo. The measure would exempt "peacekeeping" police forces from the prohibition, and would therefore act mainly as a prohibition against a military invasion. Sen. Specter explained that the measure "is designed to uphold the Constitution of the United States, which grants the exclusive authority to declare war to the Congress of the United States." ]

Senator Smith's proposal, an amendment to S. 1059, was tabled (killed) by the Senate on May 26, 1999 by a vote of 77-21 (Roll Call 151). We have assigned pluses to the nays.

Combat Troops to Yugoslavia. A proposal by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) would prohibit any funds in the Defense Department authorization bill from being used to introduce combat troops into Yugoslavia, including Kosovo. The measure would exempt "peacekeeping" police forces from the prohibition, and would therefore act mainly as a prohibition against a military invasion. Sen. Specter explained that the measure "is designed to uphold the Constitution of the United States, which grants the exclusive authority to declare war to the Congress of the United States."

Senator Specter's proposal, an amendment to S. 1059, was tabled (killed) by the Senate on May 25, 1999 by a vote of 52-48 (Roll Call 145). We have assigned pluses to the nays.